Several big roster moves will need to be made this summer for the LA Clippers to remain a contender in the Western Conference next season. One of them will of course be re-signing James Harden. The Clips' starting point guard joined the team at the start of this past season on an expiring contract.
With Harden becoming an unrestricted free agent this summer, it will be of vital importance for the team to lock him up and get him on a favorable deal to return to Los Angeles. For one, they gave up far too much to acquire him to simply lose him for nothing.
Additionally, James became vital to the Clippers' process this past season, and not having him on the floor to set up Kawhi Leonard and Paul George would be a major step backwards. With that in mind, there are several teams that could swoop in to sign Harden away from the Clippers this offseason.
1. Toronto Raptors
Now, there is admittedly a much smaller market for Harden's services this summer than there has been in past years. His overall level of play has certainly fallen off from the MVP-caliber level he was consistently performing at for multiple years at the end of last decade. So in that way, LA probably does not have to be as nervous about losing him as they may be for Paul George.
That said, Harden was playing on a two-year, $68 million contract that he signed with the 76ers this past season, and it feels like there is a very low chance he earns that kind of money again. One team that could be open to signing him for a lower amount could be the Toronto Raptors.
The Canadian team has now shipped off all the high-level players from their 2019 championship team and are looking at a solid amount of cap space. If they want a floor-raising ball-handler that can help bridge the gap from one era of Raptors basketball to the next, they could go after Harden.